Public Comment Period on the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for Closure of Waste Management Area C at the Hanford Site (Draft WIR Evaluation)

Category:

Public Comment Periods

Event Date:

June 4 – Nov. 7, 2018

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking public comment on the Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) Evaluation for Closure of Waste Management Area C (WMA C) at the Hanford Site.
The Draft WIR Evaluation is an important step toward closure of the 16 single-shell tanks at Hanford's C Tank Farm, also known as Waste Management Area C (WMA C). Waste from these tanks has been successfully retrieved, and safely closing the emptied tanks would be a significant achievement in DOE’s Hanford cleanup mission. DOE has a record of safely and successfully closing emptied underground waste tanks at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho.

The Draft WIR Evaluation demonstrates that the tanks, ancillary structures and remaining residuals at closure of WMA C will meet the waste incidental to reprocessing (WIR) criteria in DOE Manual 435.1-1, Radioactive Waste Management Manual, are not high-level radioactive waste and may be managed (disposed of in place) as low-level radioactive waste.

DOE is consulting with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the Draft WIR Evaluation and the underlying performance assessment. Following consideration of public comments and NRC consultation, DOE anticipates issuing a final WIR Evaluation.

Comments on the Draft WIR Evaluation will be accepted through Nov. 7, 2018, via email at WMACDRAFTWIR@rl.gov, or mail to: